Two very different vehicles.
One is a sports sedan, one is a luxury sedan. Both are very good at their intended mission.
Two very different vehicles.
One is a sports sedan, one is a luxury sedan. Both are very good at their intended mission.
Well if your desire is to break the tires loose you have to go BMW. Quattro means you just GO, you don't spin.
An unmentioned C5 on your list is the Allroad btw. 
Avant body, 2.7 TT engine, choice of 5 speed auto or 6 speed manual. The auto revs a bit higher on the highway than I really loved. APR tune took it from 250 hp/256 tq to 315 hp/356 tqs. Quattro is really the best thing ever on a snowy/icy road. Air ride suspension is adjustable on the fly across a pretty wide range.
Maintenance is not for the faint of heart (would be good to have more than one car).
In reply to Mister Fister:
I agree in a way. I guess I meant that you might have seen either one in the same driveways around town and they kind of fill the same niche.
I currently have a 2001 e39 525iT manual. When I bought it, my wife had a B5 A4Q, 2.8 30v manual.
My wagon came with the self-leveling/sport suspension + 17" BBS/BMW style 5 wheels. It has the simple, cable operated HVAC controls and the small, not-prone-to-leak sunroof. It's by no means a fast car, and if you need this car to serve as a commuter and a track day car I wouldn't consider an e39 or anything Audi. But it's a great daily driver for a racer, as in the inline 6 e39s got rack and pinion steering vs. recirculating ball on the V8s so the steering is really nice, the brakes are more than adequate, and if you can drive it like a momentum car, you can get through twisties shockingly fast.
I brought mine to Summit Point when I was an instructor for an SCCA comp school, and spent a bunch of laps (in rain/sleet/snow) with 4 people in the car dicing with 2 other instructors. It's just a spectacularly good driving car.
The real divide is how easy it is to work on vs ANY AUDI EVER. My wife's A4 has been gone two years and I still feel a little sick when I see one. It was one of the least pleasant vehicles I've ever worked on. The e39 is like my e36 M3 but with generally better access.
Regarding the V8 cars; I checked out a 540i manual M sport package car and got the impression it would be all the cost and pain of e39 M5 ownership minus most of what would make it worthwhile. Mine will probably get an M54 B30 out of a 330i or X3/X5 someday, and ideally a supercharger. Worth it 'cause I'm keeping this car forever.
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